Monday, April 30, 2012

None of watercolour work was in. Most finalists' paintings were oil or acrylics. "John Yu With Artist" (Jun Chen) caught my eyes, as the colour "green" used in the face and the strong brush strokes fascinated me.

You can guess how huge paintings were. It was the main stream. But I'll keep my own style.

The other day, I sketched a psychologist and popular writer, Hugh McKay at his book launch. Although the work size is A4, I'm happy with it. That's the point! "Be what I am most."

OK, as promised, I'm loosening up landscape with washes. We saw the huge rainbow over City from a hospital after a heavy shower. Beautiful and full of hope! I've begun to get how to loosen up. Only the problem is landscape does not move around that bores me so much. No joke. I love capturing movements.

Now, another wash experiment, wine "drops" for watercolour! Does anyone have left wine in a kitchen? If so, this technique is yours! Quite an interesting outcome. I'm thinking, for what sort of subject l'll use this technique. Fun!!

To learn new techniques and master them takes time. I want to take in new skills and enrich myself.

Although this post seems to have too many topics, what I tell myself is "Be what I am most." I do not need to be someone else, but myself fully. Even without a signature, my work should tell who made it -- Sadami. So, I explore skills and will be what I am. Tonight, I'll enjoy a life drawing class. Friends, Happy Painting!!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Hi, Friends, how is your art work going?I'm loosening up landscape. My short term goal is to make playful work like my figures. The ultimate goal is to enrich illustration skills and establish my distinguished style. "Break Out. Do Something Different," is a mantra.

Here's my first try. *You know I hate architecture & landscape. BUT I really enjoyed this try. Wow! Let me know your feedback. These days, we have had lots of rain. I made it from the impression of "after rain." "Soft edges" are not bad. I want to make lots more like this one. Mmm...! This could be my real breakthrough of landscape. Loose landscape matches my taste!

After Rain

Timing and amount of water are critical to make washes. Oh, one more, paper. Papers must bear heavy torturing. Good qualified papers are essential. (*I use Arche 300, smooth.) An illustrator friend shows me a "board." I'm thinking of it...

This is my view. Given info = something taught is a
half-valued treasure untill an individual tries it and learns it. Above all, anyone soon
forgets such passive info. Take initiative and examine the fact.
Then, it becomes my flesh and bones. And a theory is a theory. There isn't an almighty or a perfect theory. It always has limitations and exceptions. So, a logic cannot make me a person in prison. Regarding watercolour, I'm a person of instinct. "Free, lively and flexible" is my strength. Then, always I want to challenge myself.

Rainy Day

Now, I apply new techniques to work!
Here's my joke applied a "wrap tech" to create the marble's image. Don't ask me how this marble cutter works. Fun orientation is my style. World needs laughter~! The wrap tech can produce images like ice, broken glasses, marble, etc, etc. In illustration, I'd use it to provoke emotions. What else?It's totally up to an individual how to use it. Fun!

Marble Cutter

Of course, I enjoy sketching as usual, whilst a wash tech. This puppy was so cute at a shop. Ah, indulgence! Daily sketches are my inspirations and important "preliminary research" for studio work.

Surprise!

Watercolour is becoming thrilling and so much fun. My "visual diary" gets rich day by day. I feel the unlimited potential in watercolour techniques.In addition, Friends, we don't need to make masterpieces all the time. The point is how and what we learn in our own ways. Finally, the life drawing class starts today.
The organizer asks me to bring a plastic sheet, who claims to make tons of "messes."
Friends, Happy Painting!(NOTE: Not wise to sketch outside on a rainy day. A paper did not get dry. A drawn rat on a street. "Hilariously" miserable.)

Monday, April 16, 2012

Hi, Friends, how was your long holiday? Enjoyed it?I sketched the girl in a choir rehearsing for an Easter service. Full of joy. Lalalala~•*•♫°•♫·.•ʚ(ˆ◡ˆ)ɞBTW, have you ever made a colour chart? "To know my colours(= to know myself)" was the motivation. I always seek originality and search for "who I am" in work. The chart shows transparency and opacity of 16 colours in all.

Accurate colour knowledge is vital to play sophisticated watercolour techniques. With only 6 colours, I go for sketching, as you know. I've been quite conservative to change or add colours.BUT now is time to explore colours.In the chart, some findings are surprise and new. Also "depends on the amount of water," even a same colour behaves differently on paper.(*Thank you for understanding that critical analyses of brand names are eschewed at a blog, a public space.)

Now, I'm playing with wrap washes more.On paper, I mix colours and observe how they go around. I'm getting how to play with them and control a result.The results give me ideas for illustration.

Once, I mainly used wet-in-wet like below.How combine these effects with my loose style and explore new expressions --- is the mission. Or find a very different style?Very much like labour pains. I want to find a breakthrough. My mentor Ann encourages me so much to keep a "visual diary." Good idea!!A bonus. The colour chart gives me an idea what colours to get next. I put it at the top of a big drawing board and smile at it everyday. Lalalala~•*•♫°•♫·.•ʚ(ˆ◡ˆ)ɞ

Sunday, April 8, 2012

I've joined an evening life drawing class. Self-directed = No teacher. These are my " first" watercolour sketches(A3). "The quicker, the better," I feel.

"Dignity(15 minutes, A3)"

Before sketching, I had a chat with a model. It gave me his image.In the class, I felt "high" = wanted to make a big work(*if I feel small, I can only make a small work). I used 3 A3 papers to make this work. A bit hectic to keep them on a small board! But fun!

"Life Experience, (30 minutes)"

Do you love life drawing? I do. Oh, long time ago, when I looked at a model's body, it moved me so much. Both, a male and a female, how beautiful and devine! So precious. I thanked for having the human body. The feeling is still the same now.

"Strength(15 minutes, A3)" value study

These sketches are a starting point. I want to explore watercolour for portraits and illustrations. The local colours bore me in portraits. Go one more step further technically and mentally to grow. Take a risk and do experiments.

So...I'm exploring washes to apply them more to portraits and illustrations. Wrap makes this texture.Quite an easy procedure.1) put colour on paper2) put a wrap & play around with fingers = make texture3) leave it till gets dryBut controling this is not easy. At 2), you can control some. I'm challenging it. Have a wonderful week. The class will restart after an Easter holiday.Friends, Happy Painting!! Let's make lots of messes!

Monday, April 2, 2012

Hi, Friends, did you have a nice weekend? This week, a topic is digitization and the impact of a computer on our daily life. Digitization is revolutionizing society and a world.

A mobile phone is a typical example of digitization, a small computer. I'm thinking of the pros and cons are...Advantages: handy, overcome space, time, distance, speeding up globalization, business-set-up without capital, boost-up economics, social minorities access to info and mutually communicate, beneficiaries are such as the disabled, the poor etc. And so ons.

Disadvantages : the social exclusion of the people without computer skills, social isolation, dehumanization (=paradoxically, "less communication with unfamiliar people"), text message changing language, endangered languages/cultures/traditions, fake identities, intrusion of privacy, intellectual property theft, etc, etc.For us, artists, digitization changes market strategies and producing process, although copyrights infringement is a headache. Already even emerging artists can display work and sell it on net without galleries. Also, computer programs can produce art work. In publishing industry, "e Books" is a hot topic. I wonder if the public will read picture books on mobile phone... or already? I really love old fashioned children picture books made from papers... Hopefully, children picture books will survive this computer era and remain forever.

Regarding blogging, it's a great mutual communication methods. We, artists tend to be isolated in society, because of the occupation's nature. Net enables artists to chest off and help each other, especially, at a tough time. It's nice! But at the same time, I keep away from a computer. I'm the boss; my life comes first, not computing!

My stance is neither negative nor supportive of digitization. Already it's a social phenomenon. Coping with it is practical. Not easy to update myself and catching up with drastic changing. Ah, a living fossil?! Gulp.

BTW, a chill-out topic, a "wash"!

I was too busy last year to join "100 washes." (Thanks my blogger friends who invited me!) Now, I have time for 100 washes. I'll explore lots of techniques and use findings for illustration. First, I observed different blues behaving. Granulation is a great fun(*I use only "smooth" paper). Second. Mixing colours on paper. Timing of brush, amount of water, condition of paper(dry/wet/half wet etc) are critical. I believe "washes = the beauty of watercolour."

About Me

Award winning fine artist, enthusiastic children's picture book illustrator, portraitist and event/conference sketcher, Sydney based. Greatest strength: "Empathic portraits". Spontaneous and beautiful. Outstanding speed and accuracy. In only a few minutes, my quick portraits capture models in any posture with any facial expression on spot. Figures appear lively and emotionally. My linguistic training enables me to analyse the text in detail and organise appropriate story boards for the target audience. Sociological methods and research skills are used to capture insights from a text. The work bridges between a text, reality and imagination. Style is broad from whimsical cartoons to fine art for multifarious subjects. Japanese naitve speaker. Enjoy my works in StyleFile